More than 100 farmers sat on a dharna outside the Bidupur block office in Vaishali district, Bihar on 11 September 2015 under the Kisan Mahasabha banner with the following demands- (i) to declare Vaishali district drought-stricken; (ii) to give free ration-kerosene to farmers until the next crop; (iii) to waive agricultural loans up to Rs 1 lakh; (iv) to give farmers and sharecroppers interest-free loans for farming the next crop; (v) to associate MNREGA with agriculture and to give MNREGA workers 200 days’ work in farmers’ fields at Rs 300 per day; (vi) to restart all State hand pumps and to repair derelict canals and release water into them; (vii) to electrify farmers’ private hand pumps and give free electricity for irrigation; (viii) to set up camps in villages and insure the crops of all non-loan farmers including sharecroppers on the basis of physical verification; and (ix) to give farmers including sharecroppers immediate diesel subsidy. A memorandum with these demands was submitted to the Block Development Officer. It may be noted that up to September this district had recorded only 435 mm rainfall as against the normal average of 790 mm which amounts to a deficit of 45%.
Earlier, on 6 August more than 400 farmers had protested in front of the District headquarters with the same demands and had submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister through the Collector. Again, on 1 September, jointly with other Left farmers’ organizations, ‘Farmers’ Demand Day’ was observed and a memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister through the Collector, with 11 demands that included- (i) declaration of Vaisahali as a drought-stricken district, (ii) laws to be made to protect agricultural land, and (iii) a pension of Rs 3,000 per month for farmers and sharecroppers. These programmes, led by State President Com. Vishveshwar Prasad Yadav, were addressed by Kisan Mahasabha district President Com. Pradeep Rai, Secretary Com. Arvind Kumar Choudhury, Joint Secretary Com. Suman Kumar, Com. Harinarayan Singh, Com. Ramyatna Rai, and other peasant leaders.
